A wide variety of practice nets for ball sports have been attempted. Golf is a particular sport where a compact practice net has been found to be most desirable but which has been quite difficult to successfully provide due to the particular problems associated with the practice of that sport. Hereinafter, this description will describe the invention with respect to the art of golf and its application for practising golf. However, it is to be recognised that the invention disclosed herein is readily adaptable to other ball sports.
Many attempts have been made to provide a golf practise net to enable a person to practise hitting a normal golf ball. Typically, such devices incorporate a net or other membrane arranged to receive the ball struck by the person, the net being supported by some type of frame. However, many of these types of apparatus suffer from the disadvantage of not being portable such that the golfer can practise striking the ball at any desired location. For many, also, the net must be placed forward of the person rendering quite likely that if the person does not strike the ball accurately, the ball will miss the target completely. This limits places where such nets can be used to locations where it does not cause a problem if the ball is mis-hit and misses the net. In general, those that are relatively portable require support by insertion of support stakes into the ground or attachment of support means to a nearby fixtures. This prevents use in average indoor domestic environments. Another problem usually facing such nets is that the balls once struck remain at the net so that it is necessary to walk to the net after hitting a group of balls to collect the balls. Yet another problem that has been common is that the nets have had very limited durability when struck by balls hit by skilled users, as such users can impart very considerable momentum and energy to a golf ball. The impact of a high energy ball upon the net causes damage which leads to rapid deterioration of the net. If a net or membrane of sufficient strength is used to prevent rapid deterioration, the apparatus becomes too heavy for easy portability.
Some attempts have been made to overcome these problems. A number such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,731 (Doyle) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,219 (Tillery) have provided nets which fully enclose the player to ensure that any mis-hit ball is certain to strike the net. While such devices are effective in avoiding accidents, they must of necessity be so large that they cannot be used in ordinary domestic environments where the height is limited. GB2140311 (Collings) discloses an apparatus having a conical shaped net having an open end supported from an arched frame and a closed end supported forward of the arched frame from a support member extending from the top of the arched frame. Side panels may be supported from the upright members of the arched frame and extending rearwardly of the user to be held in the ground by pegs or stakes. However, for domestic use, the disclosure proposes that the net may be disconnected from the frame and support and suspended from convenient fixtures.
The preceding discussion of the background to the invention is intended only to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.